Eternal Sunshine
by Puma4
Summary: Basically: What if season 2 was a lot darker? My take on it, slightly AU-ish but not really, just added the drama factor, romance and mostly lots of angst. Shalimar-centric. coupling: Not sure yet, but there will be. MUCH) better summary inside.


**Time Frame:** Middle of season 2, but I've changed EVERYTHING that happens since the finale of season 1, so everything from "Past as Prologue" (including it) is gone to hell, where it should have stayed.

**Couples:** Not really clear on that, this is a work in progress and I kinda like the drama and everything, I'm really not sure what the pairings will be. Depends on where I'll go with this, probably ShalBren (my version of him, the smart one) but I'm a sucker for ShalJess, see the problem? Oh, and will fit Emma with someone, just don't know who exactly. Suggestions are highly welcomed.

**A/N:** Here we go. Hey there, I'm Lily, or Puma4, if you prefer and this is my first fic posted. I can't believe I'm actually doing this, I mean, I've been writing for ages but I never actually came close to posting anything… oh by the way, that wasn't me trying to get you to be nice in your review (Pretty Please, Review? I'll give you 3 wishes? Or possibly a pencil sharpener?), on the contrary, I want honest opinions, I want to know anything you have to say! Even ideas for storylines, 'cos I tend to get stuck without ideas… Really. Or if something doesn't sound logical, there's always an explanation, and if there isn't, I'll make something up.

-------------------------------------------------------

Emma was lying on her back, perfectly content, letting the warm wind hit her almost-naked body in waves of unending peace.

This was her world. Her own personal, tropical-island-ish world. Here there were absolutely no troubles, pain, disgust, betrayal and all those other emotions that maid her head ache and her heart twist during the day.

She has worked so, so hard to create this perfect little escape. Endless hours of endless meditation alongside the endless fountain, trying to shut all the noise away, everybody's petty little feelings roaming through her brain like needy little worms, ripping their way through piles of dirt.

But right now, there was nothing but the breeze. Her mind was completely empty, she hardly had any feelings of her own, least of all other people's.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

She loved that phrase, it described what she always wanted, what she hoped someday she'd have enough power to have. Plus, she felt so warm, as if she was in the arms of someone, someone she knew she adored but didn't have a face.

But all good things must end.

In a matter of milliseconds all of that disappeared and she was left lying on a stone cold floor, wearing a thin nightgown, stomach pressed furiously against the ground, one hand reached upwards, trying to feel anything, waiting to finally be dead.

_Wait,_ her mind protested the sudden lost, _what am I doing here? How did I get here?_

Her body was frozen, the cold consumed her, there was no escape and she knew the bad men were coming. She looked at her hands and saw bruises all covering them, her arms, her chest, her neck, her blond locks were soaked with blood and… _wait!_ Her mind alarmed again, _this is not my hair,_ she realized. Taking a good look at herself she could see that was not her body either. She was long, very long and this body was petit and muscular, firm is more accurate.

She needed to use all her strength to get up and when she did the wave of nausea that hit her was so hard she thought she'd fall down again. _Kill me, _she heard an indistinctive voice in her mind, _Christ in heaven, please, take me to the butterflies,_ "they promised me there'd be freedom, why'd they lie?" said the same indistinctive voice.

"Hey," she heard a soothing voice form behind her, "I'm here now."

She turned around with an expression of pure joy, "Gabriel, why did you leave?"

Gabriel Ashlocke, the first and worst new mutants of all times, recently dead, was standing in front of her with his hand reached forwards – her heart was telling her to run, but why the hell would she want to? "You killed me," he said non-chantingly, "but it's not your fault, you were possessed."

She wanted to cry, "I'm sorry," said her voice softly, there was something familiar about it, "but it was written in the manual. I tried, but the bridge wouldn't join"

He took a step towards her and held her arm in a gentle squeeze, "I know my love, you couldn't fight him. It's ok, I'm not bitter. But we've gotta go."

They started walking together, Gabriel was half supporting her, like he did that time they were in that building and she got hurt. By him. _Wait, no I didn't! That never happened!_

Their surroundings turned gray suddenly and it was clearly about to rain. Rain was bad, very bad, her senses didn't work well with rain. It was bad.

She tried to look beyond everything to try and see where they were but something was blocking her eyes, it seemed to be her own eyelids. After some struggle she opened them and gasped when she saw what was in front of them. A cold little room, with white walls and a chair.

She halted, "you brought me here."

Gabriel turned around and smiled the cruelest smile she ever saw, her bones turned butter, "it's your home."

"Never!" she whispered fiercely and tried to let go of his hand, but his grip was steel, _this is the Ashlocke I remember._ She bent over under his hold and whimpered, "let me go, you wouldn't do that."

Ashlocke let her go and she ran and ran and ran so hard that she slipped from the momentum and landed on the floor again with a cry. Weak, so weak, where was nature?

Two bodies lifted her from the ground. A man and a woman. The man was dark haired and tall, Brennan, and the woman was… her! It was her!

"You're not here to help," she said tiredly, "you're never here to help."

Brennan stared at her, "that's pretty obvious," he said coldly, "ready to go?"

She yanked her strange-yet-familiar hand and tried to back away, only to bump right into the hands of herself. They both closed in on her and wrapped their arms around her, consuming her. But she didn't want to be consumed.

The room was back, still white and with the same silver chair.

She ran again, ran and ran and appeared in Sanctuary, there she saw Jesse and Adam working in the lab. Jesse! Thank god! Jesse'll help!

"Jesse!" she called desperately, "help me!" she held his arm.

Jesse kissed her forehead sweetly and sighed, "I would, but I'm bound." He showed her his arm, it was bound to the lab, Adam was dangling the key.

"Adam," she called, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Adam!" she pleaded, "please Adam! Let Jesse go!" still no answer, he didn't even turn around, "Adam…" she murmured.

She dropped to her knees. There was no one to help her. No one. Now she was ready to die, she'd rather die than let them get her in the room.

But she was in the entrance again and she was being pulled in by Brennan, Emma and Gabriel, screaming, pleading, scratching and trying to resist. But she just wasn't strong enough.

They tossed her on the floor and she cried with pain from her wounds. A strong hand took her arm and lifted her. She looked up at him with the last shred of hope she had left.

"Welcome home," the middle-aged, grayed hair man said, evil dripping out of every syllable.

At the sight of him, only half knowing why, she screamed, hollered, cried and tried her best to set herself free from him. _Who is he?_ She asked herself. _The devil!_ The other voice answered.

He smirked and she screamed again with all her throat.

------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoyed this, even though it's a little... well, not really good. I'll get better in time, I just don't really know how to fix this one. I'll try to get a beta-reader, even though I really don't know what that is.


End file.
